Clinton on campus today: Another Obama campaign stop at UNH

DURHAM — Former President Bill Clinton spoke to a packed crowd at the University of New Hampshire Wednesday and called on voters to keep Democrats in the White House.

By MICHELLE KINGSTONmkingston@fosters.com

DURHAM — Former President Bill Clinton spoke to a packed crowd at the University of New Hampshire Wednesday and called on voters to keep Democrats in the White House.

The 42nd president of the United States spoke on behalf of President Barack Obama during an afternoon speech at UNH. He was introduced by Democratic candidate for governor Maggie Hassan.

Clinton says Republicans plan to cut taxes for wealthy Americans and decrease regulations, while Obama's plan is to rebuild America from the ground up, investing in innovation, education and job training. Clinton says Obama is doing what Clinton did while he was president in the 1990s and America needs to vote for Obama to continue this plan.

Obama for America-New Hampshire Communications Director Holly Shulman said there's no specific reason why Clinton visited UNH, but noted the mission of the campaign is to reach voters of all ages.

The event took place just hours before the first presidential debate, scheduled for 9 p.m. on Wednesday. The President and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will speak on domestic policy at the University of Denver in Colorado.

This presidential race is thought to be a close contest. RealClearPolitics, a website that provides an average of the latest polling data available on the presidential race, indicates Obama is maintaining a six point lead over Romney among likely New Hampshire voters.

Obama's lead spiked in the latest WMUR Granite State Poll, which was conducted by the UNH Survey Center. Released earlier this week, the poll showed Obama holding a 15 percentage point lead over his GOP opponent.